Gentiana parryi, July 29, 2025
Common & scientific name
Bottle gentian, Gentiana parryi
Family
Gentian, Gentianaceae
Location
Linkins Lake Trail, 11,800’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This bright, blue-purple goblet puts out one to a half-dozen blooms per plant (alpine plants tend to have single blooms, lower growing more), opening fully only in sunshine. This and its other purple gentian cousins are some of the last wildflowers to grace the Pass above treeline—enjoy!
Chamaenerion latifolium, July 28, 2025
Common & scientific name
Dwarf fireweed, Chamaenerion latifolium
Family
Evening primrose, Onagraceae
Location
Roadside, 11,700’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Smaller plant and larger flowers than its close cousin, Chamaenerion angustifolium, and won’t be found roadside but rather creekside or ditch-side. It is the national flower of Greenland: good choice, Greenland!
Oxyria digyna, July 24, 2025
Common & scientific name
Mountain sorrel, Oxyria digyna
Family
Buckwheat, Polygonaceae
Location
Geissler, 11,200’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Heart-shaped leaves and red and green flowers then seeds make this charming alpine plant unmistakeable. The tart, lemony leaves are edible and have been enjoyed by humans and wildlife alike for millennia.
Senecio amplectens var. amplectens, July 24, 2025
Common & scientific name
Showy alpine ragwort, Senecio amplectens var. amplectens
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Lower Green Mountain, 11,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
I so love this flower! Something about the way its petals bend and fold in different directions, in sometimes scraggly ways, as seen below, and the fact that it appears only occasionally in spruce/fir forests, or below along a steep streambank, makes this flower feel like a friend too rarely seen. A friend calls it the “bad hair day” flower.
Moneses uniflora July 22, 2025
Common & scientific name
Wood nymph, Moneses uniflora
Family
Heath, Ericaceae
Location
Roaring Fork River, 10,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Standing just a few inches off the ground, this perennial favorite’s single, nodding flower hides a clever stigma that can take pollen off the back of a visiting bumblebee after the bee has shaken pollen off the flower’s anthers. Look for this shy beauty in moist spruce-fir woods.
Campanula rotundiifolia, July 22, 2025
Common & scientific name
Harebell, Campanula rotundifolia
Family
Bellflower, Campanulaceae
Location
Roadside, 10,800’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This IS the bluebell of Scotland (not our smaller Mertensia bluebells). The fact that this plant is sometimes found in areas inhabited by hares—rabbits—may explain its common name. It is commonly found on the Pass in the montane and subalpine zones.
Agoseris glauca var. dasycephala, July 15, 2025
Common & scientific name
Pale agoseris, Agoseris glauca var. dasycephala
Family
Sunflower, Asteraceae
Location
Upper Lost Man, 11,700’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Much taller than A. glauca, much fuzzier, much bigger head, and found only in the high subalpine or alpine. I love this big fuzz head!
Penstemon hallii, July 10, 2025
Common & scientific name
Hall’s penstemon, Penstemon hallii
Family
Plantain, Plantaginaceae
Location
Summit, 12,100’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
A true blue (well, magenta-purple) Colorado native, this brilliant wildflower, large for the tundra, is found mostly near the Continental Divide and nowhere else on the planet—lucky us! Don’t miss its brief stay.
Saxifrage hyperborea, July 9, 2025
Common & scientific name
Alpine saxifrage, Saxifraga hyperborea
Family
Saxifrage, Saxifragaceae
Location
Ruby, 12,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This total jewel of a flower, also known as “pygmy saxifrage,” is almost always found tucked into wet caves and boulder-created crevasses. It stands just three inches high, is usually single-flowered, has adorably-lobed leaves, and is guaranteed to make your day. Never let rock gardens go unexplored: treasures await!
Angelica grayi, July 9, 2025
Common & scientific name
Gray’s angelica, Angelica grayi
Family
Parsley, Apiaceae
Location
Ruby, 12,000
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This alpine carrot is unmistakeable, with its large umbel of greenish flowers and overall stocky demeanor. It is usually found high on the Pass near water in the company of many other flowers and grasses.
Polemonium confertum, July 9, 2025
Mountain Boy, July 2, 2025
Species
Rocky Mountain sky pilot, Polemonium confertum
Family
Phlox, Polemoniaceae
Location
Ruby, 12,500’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
If you’ve ever been scrambling along a rocky alpine ridge and swore you smelled a skunk, you were (sort of) correct! Sky pilot, a common but striking tundra flower, sometimes goes by the name “Skunkweed,” owing to the strong odor it sometimes puts out.
Castilleja occidentalis, July 9, 2025
Same
Common & scientific name
Western Indian paintbrush, Castilleja occidentalis
Family
Broomrape, Orobanchaceae
Location
Ruby, 12,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
What a wonderful alpine fuzzball this is! Especially when it hybridizes with other paintbrushes like the magenta C. rhexifolia to create tie-dyed, striped wonders (note that not all botanists agree these hybridize: some argue for separate speciation).
While there is much discussion among botanists about the proper classification of paintbrushes, including the genetic difference (if any) between C. occidentalis and the similarly yellowish-white C. sulphurea (also called C. septentrionalis), the two are readily distinguishable in the field by their elevation (C. occidentalis is an alpine plant, C. sulphurea is found lower), their size (C. occidentalis is shorter), and their fuzziness factor (C. occidentalis wins!) It also crosses with other high-elevation Castillejas like C. rhexifolia and C. miniata to create colorful, striped versions
Astragalus alpina, July 2, 2025
Common & scientific name
Alpine milkvetch, Astragalus alpinus
Family
Pea, Fabaceae
Location
Roadside east, 10,000’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This circumpolar, pioneer plant may be the most widely distributed and common Astragalus in the world. While it is rarely found above treeline in our area, despite its name, and is more common on the east side of the Pass than the west, it is always a delight to find, in subalpine woods, meadows, and even (especially!) roadside, with its dainty purple-and-white flowers set among its sprawling, ladder-like leaves. It is also enjoyed by caribou, arctic hares, and greater snow geese (as food, that is), and grizzly bears forage its underground parts.
Saxifraga chrysantha, July 2, 2025
Common & scientific name
Golden saxifrage, Saxifraga chrysantha
Family
Saxifrage, Saxifragaceae
Location
Mountain Boy, 12,600’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
A single yellow flower with orange dots at the base of its petals sits atop a 2”-3” red stem covered with gland-tipped hairs (as can be seen in this photo) arising from a sweet little rosette of succulent leaves. Yet another jewel of the alpine! It does not have the red runners of its close cousin, Saxifraga flagellaris.
Penstemon harbourii, July 2, 2025
Common & scientific name
Harbour’s penstemon, Penstemon harbourii
Family
Plantain, Plantaginaceae
Location
Mountain Boy, 12,600’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This one must be earned! Found only in Colorado, only in high talus fields, and only in a few spots on the Pass, this beautiful beardtongue is worth the climb and the search.
